Family Adventures in Japan: Best Activities With Kids [Tips and Advice!]

Are you planning a family adventure in Japan? Well, this video series is all about tackling everything you need to know about being in Japan with kids, and now we’re up to the fourth and final part – activities! How should you spend your time? How do you go about keeping both the kids AND parents happy? I give you my perspective on having family fun in Japan with tips and recommendations galore.

Be sure to also check out Part 1 (https://youtu.be/5-04IhnLnkU?si=YajBVj9X7Uwqzhl7), which is my video on transport and getting around, Part 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smxAlzJsNAw&t=59s), which covers off hotels and accommodation, and Part 3 (https://youtu.be/DhnkZL7CAzo?si=Pjnc3RYQQB0uwiOm), which is all about food.

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Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):

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https://uppbeat.io/t/kula/breathe-underwater
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https://uppbeat.io/t/hartzmann/dont-look-back
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A huge thanks to Vecteezy.com for the royalty-free assets, in particular the fantastic timelapses: https://www.vecteezy.com/

Thanks also to Pixabay: https://pixabay.com/ for the sound effects.

Much love to LQ for designing the Kampai Cam in Japan logo.

AI art was all generated using https://creator.nightcafe.studio/

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VIDEO CHAPTERS

00:00 Intro
00:28 Overview of Broad Options
00:54 How to Take Advantage of Your Kids’ Interests
02:51 Guide to Japanese Theme Parks: Apps, Fast Passes etc
05:14 Introducing Japanese Pop Culture Like Studio Ghibli Films
05:40 Get Tickets for Most Activities Well in Advance
06:05 Be Realistic About Your Schedule
06:40 Providing Some Cultural Context Can Be Helpful
07:20 Learn About Japan’s Supernatural Traditions
07:40 Age Appropriate Activities Are Key
07:57 Involve Your Kids in the Planning Stages
08:12 Give Your Kids Spending Money
08:35 Bonus Tip 1: Don’t Overhype the Trip
08:58 Bonus Tip 2: Keep a Record of the Trip
09:28 Bonus Tip 3: Conbinis Have Bathrooms
09:53 Outro

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Japan is an unreal place to visit with kids,  but how should you spend your time? In this   video I’m going to go over some of your options,  as well as give you tips and advice for ensuring   the whole family has an incredible holiday. Be  sure to also check out my other family-focused  

Videos as I’ve already covered transport,  accommodation and food. But right now   it’s time to plan out your activities.  Let’s go. Or should I say – ikimashou! When it comes to how you spend your days  in Japan, there are a mind boggling number  

Of options. From temples and shrines to  amusement parks, game arcades, themed cafes,   toy stores and dense shopping districts, there’s  something for everyone. If you’re there at   the right time of year you can even plan your  days around cherry blossoms or autumn foliage,   not to mention seasonal sports like  baseball games and sumo tournaments.

In general though, I think finding ways to  take advantage of your kids’ interests is key   to having a good holiday. Japan really is a pop  culture juggernaut so if they’re into Pokemon,   manga/anime such as One Piece, video game  franchises like Mario, Zelda and Final Fantasy,  

Or other Japanese titans like Godzilla  and Hello Kitty (name a more iconic duo),   then you’ll already have some stuff  to target while you’re over there. Many Japanese cities have otaku districts  with geeky shops, arcades and more,   so if you’re in Tokyo, for instance, you can  head to Akihabara or Nakano Broadway and check  

Out dozens of stores selling new and second  hand games, merch, manga and more. That said,   there are more options outside those districts  than ever before. The big electronics stores   like Bic Camera and Yodobashi have plenty  to offer, while there are brand-specific  

Options like Pokecenters and One Piece  shops all over the place. Tokyo and Osaka   both have Nintendo Stores too, while game  arcades aren’t too hard to find either. Regardless of the Japanese property your  kids are into, chances are there’ll be  

Places you can visit to take advantage of that  interest, whether those are shops, themed cafes,   amusement parks or statues large and  small. Your kids love Godzilla? Well,   there’s a chain of stores selling Godzilla merch,  plus you can spot him in Shinjuku and maybe even  

Zipline into his gaping maw on Awaji Island.  Where’s that? Just near Naruto. Naruto the city,   that is – not the character. Although  it’s also close to the Naruto attraction. Your activities don’t have to be  based around Japanese properties,  

Either. Do your kids love Harry Potter? If so  then Universal Studios Japan in Osaka or The   Making of Harry Potter Studio Tour in Tokyo  might be worth a look. Are they into Disney,   Pixar or Star Wars? Disneyland  and DisneySea might be the go.

For theme parks, you’ll want to plan  ahead. They tend to be quietest mid-week,   and by “quietest” I mean “bearably packed” so  try to engineer your weeks around going on the   slowest days. And before you book, make sure  there aren’t public holidays, school holidays  

Or anything else that might cause a spike  in attendance. Research is everything so you   should also look into the busiest and best rides  so you can beeline for them when the gates open. Most theme parks also have an app, and while  they’re not without their issues, it’s helpful  

To have an interactive map and to be able to  see how long queues are in real-time. They have   additional functionality too. At the Disney parks,  for instance, you can book spots for shows and the  

Like using the app. The system is quite limited so  look into it ahead of time to make the most of it. Fast passes can also be crucial for  making the most of your amusement   park experiences. At DisneySea we wound  up paying for fast passes midway through  

The day just to dodge the queues on a  couple of rides and get more stuff in. Universal Studios Japan works a little  differently, with a somewhat confusing   range of packages you can choose from on  top of your actual entry tickets. As we’re  

Big Nintendo and Harry Potter fans we bought  a package that included timed entry to both   Super Nintendo World and the Harry Potter area,  as well as the ability to skip the queue for a   ride in each. Our choice also included fast  passes we could use on a handful of other  

Rides. My son was surprisingly fine queueing in  both parks but by the end of the day the queues   for the best rides can be nudging towards two  hours long, so sprinkling in some quick fixes   along the way means you get to do more and  you’re more likely to keep everyone happy.

It’s also worth pointing out that you may have  trouble buying tickets for theme parks through   the official channels. Tokyo DisneySea’s site  simply wouldn’t accept any of my credit cards,   for instance, and this is a common problem.  We wound up buying our tickets through Klook.

Also be sure to check whether your kids  are tall enough to ride everything before   you book. You really don’t want to miss  The Flying Dinosaur because your damn   weiner kids are too small. And as a general  rule, Disneyland is best with young kids,  

Whereas I’d wait to visit DisneySea  and USJ until my kids can go on all   the rides. And once you’ve done those  parks, it’s time to graduate to Fuji-Q! Just as I recommended getting your kids  into Japanese food before the trip,  

The same can be true of other aspects  of Japanese culture. If your children   haven’t seen Totoro or the other kid-friendly  Studio Ghibli classics, those characters are   everywhere in Japan so it’s worth getting the  family up to speed. Speaking of Studio Ghibli,  

The merch shops are everywhere now, but if  you’re hoping to visit the Ghibli Museum   or Ghibli Park you’ll definitely need  to get those tickets well in advance. That goes for plenty of activities, incidentally.  Lots of locations sell out ahead of time so if  

You’re doing Disney or tackling TeamLab, get your  tickets as far in advance as possible. You’re   probably fine to buy tickets for things  like Skytree or Tokyo Tower on the day,   but I’d still try and book ahead as you may be  able to find a better price online – particularly  

If you’re looking to book a handful of activities  and thus may be able to get a package discount. One overall piece of advice I have is to be  realistic about what makes sense for your   kids. When my son was younger, for instance,  we definitely catered our itineraries more  

Specifically to keeping him happy, which meant  more amusement parks and less museums, more merch   and less temples, more chilling and less walking.  Now that he’s a bit older, however, it’s more of a  

Mix as we try to get him into the stuff we like to  do in Japan. He might not have particularly wanted   to hike up Mount Kintoki in Hakone for a view  of Mount Fuji, but the promise of a mochi at the  

Top followed by a meal of his choice when he got  back down gave him something to look forward to. Context can be invaluable too, so in the instance  of Kintoki, I told him the folk tale of the super  

Strong Kintaro, who was supposedly raised by a  witch on the very mountain we were climbing. That   way when we saw the boulder Kintaro supposedly  broke in two, and then when we found an enormous  

Axe on the summit – much like the one he was said  to have carried around – it all made more sense. Obviously your mileage will vary as my son’s  eyes tend to glaze over when I start talking   about how amazing it is that a temple  has been around for a thousand years,  

But still, context will help them  get more out of the trip in general,   and it’s a good excuse for you to dive into  researching your destinations a little more too. There’s some fun supernatural aspects  of Japanese culture you can all learn   about together as well, such  as yokai and animism. I mean,  

Who doesn’t want to know about how kappa love  cucumbers or how there’s that weird umbrella   yokai. Or you can dig into some of the more  fearsome-looking creatures like oni and tengu. Choosing manageable, age appropriate  activities is everything. You’re not  

Going to want to climb Kintoki if you have to  lug a stroller and carry a child the entire way,   for instance. Instead, maybe you’re  better off hitting a toy store,   finding a playground or petting  some adorable miniature pigs.

You may also want to involve your children  in the planning stages ahead of the trip,   telling them about some of the options so  they can build out a list of stuff they’d   like to do. That way when you’re there they can  pick from their list – perhaps even choosing  

Between a couple of options – so they have a  little agency in what’s happening each day. And if you don’t want your kids badgering  you to buy stuff for them constantly,   you could think about giving them a daily  allowance that they can choose to spend  

However they like. That way they have to decide  what they really want. Do they want to spend money   on UFO catchers? Gachapon? Gaming arcades? Merch?  Figurines? Vending machines? Famicom or Famichiki? Here are a handful of other tips to bear in mind…

This is a bit counterintuitive given I’ve  said you should get your kids interested in   Japanese food and culture ahead of the  trip, but it’s also a bit dangerous to   hype it up too much. If you’re like “Tokyo is  the craziest, busiest city in the world!” or  

“Japanese game arcades are like nothing  you’ve ever seen!” you run the risk of   setting dangerously high expectations.  Better to underpromise and overdeliver. A good way to help ensure your kids actually  remember more of the holiday is to either have  

Them write a daily journal if they’re old  enough, or do some kind of family recap at   the end of the day, covering off the stuff  that everyone liked most or perhaps even   disliked! That’s a good time to go over  the plan for the following day too. You  

Can also get your kids to write postcards to  send back home to family and friends. Sure,   they probably won’t arrive until after  you’re back, but that’s not really the point. If you need a bathroom, obvious options  are train stations and department stores,  

But most conbini also have bathrooms that  customers can use. Just be sure to buy something   if you do that. You can also use conbinis to get  cash out, use the rubbish and recycling bins that   are usually just inside the doors, and of course,  as the easiest source of a snack, meal or drink.

And lastly, don’t try to cram too  much in. Tired kids are grumpy kids. I hope you’ve enjoyed this video  and the others in the series. Please   subscribe to the channel and turn  on notifications so you don’t miss   any of the awesome Japan travel content  I have planned. And have a great trip!